The growing power of Christian evangelism in Latin America underpins a family drama in The Visitor (El Visitante), a Bolivian film which has won major prizes at Tribeca (Best International Screenwriting Award) and the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (Best International Film). It is the most recent success for Bolivian cinema and its new generation of talented filmmakers such as Kiro Russo, winner of the Venice Orizzonti Special Jury Prize for The Great Movement, Alejandro Loayza Grisi, winner of Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Jury Prize for Utama, and Natalia Lopez Gallardo, winner of Berlin’s Silver Bear for Robe of Gems.
On his fourth feature, director Martin Boulocq, who wrote the script with Rodrigo Hasbun, is never heavy-handed when exposing the motivations, contradictions, and social status of his characters in small yet revealing details that build up tension and provide social and political context for their actions. The story focuses on Humberto, a flawed but determined ex-con who is in turn conniving and desperate for redemption. Played by Bolivian opera singer Enrique Aráoz in his first screen role, Humberto struggles to reconnect with his teenage daughter Aleida (Svet Ailyn Mena), who is being raised by her wealthy Argentinean grandparents. His in-laws, Carlos and Elizabeth (expertly played by veteran Uruguayan actors César Troncoso and Mirella Pascual), are both pastors in a mega church. In some of the film’s more dramatic scenes, they exploit the faith of their darker-skinned congregation during masses delivered in Spanish and translated into the native Quechua language, accompanied by loud pop music and passionate pleas to Jesus. At the grandparents’ home, their maid Norma (Teresa Rodriguez) initially seems to be a conventional secondary character, until we realize that she has a closer connection to the family than we had assumed.
While the plot is slow to unravel, it holds the viewer’s interest, as Humberto and Carlos compete for Aleida’s – and the congregants’- affection. The reason why the girl’s mother is absent is revealed in a single, eloquent image of a creaking tree branch that has witnessed a tragedy in the past. Federico Moreira, who also designed the sound for the Bolivian-Uruguayan Utama, mixes catchy pop tunes of the evangelical services with the lyrical rapture of Puccini and Verdi operas, sung with great passion by Humberto as he earns a meager living singing arias at local funerals. When he tries to gain his daughter’s trust by teaching her how to sing, his in-laws ban him from their home, fearing he will try to regain custody. Humberto is reduced to a mere visitor who interacts only sporadically with his daughter. He is also a recovering alcoholic, teased by his liquor-imbibing friends; but like a biblical character, he must atone for past sins and avoid temptation.
As the powerful preacher Carlos, César Troncoso has a fierce, feral quality about him as he cajoles his followers and releases their demons, providing his own comical sound effects to the staged exorcisms. But Pastor Carlos does not like competition, and he yanks away the microphone when Humberto upstages him with his own preaching and singing. The film excels in denouncing the seductive nature of preachers who weaponize the gospel to recruit and retain their naïve followers. German Nocella’s cinematography lays bare the economic divide in Bolivia: the story unfolds in central Cochabamba, where rusty, dusty houses cling to the hills, while the wealthy live in mansions with servants and swimming pools. The white upper class can muster the best lawyers to defend their interests, and their religion is shown as a tool for neo-colonialist domination.
The ending provides a glimmer of hope, at least for Aleida, while her father drives away, dwarfed by giant windmills that recall Don Quixote’s imaginary adversaries. Such are the ominous challenges facing Bolivia today, as capitalism and evangelical zeal pit opposing social forces against each other.
Director: Martin Boulocq
Screenplay: Martin Boulocq, Rodrigo Hasbún
Cast: Enrique Aráoz, César Troncoso, Mirella Pascual, Svet Ailyn Mena, Romel Vargas, Teresa Gutiérrez
Executive Producer: Martin Boulocq
Producers: Andrea Camponovo, Alvaro Olmos, Hernan Musaluppi, Diego Robino, Santiago Lopez
Cinematography: German Nocella
Editing: Irene Cajías, Martin Boulocq
Music: Osei Essed
Sound Design: Federico Moreira
Production companies: CQ Films (Bolivia), Empatía Cinema (Bolivia), Cimarrón (Uruguay)
World sales: FiGa Film Sales, Filmax
Venue: Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival
In Spanish and Quechua
86 minutes
